POETRY | AMUSING RESPONSES

Succumb

Breathing through the pain

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

I recline and breathe, breathe
through the pain — jagged-edged
shards shock through hip to leg
breathe, breathe —
await its passing, then carry on

I beg the words to fill my soul
find their way quickly, quickly
to flow from mind to keyboard
quickly, quickly —
before the opioids takes hold

I leave this testimonial —
the Universe knows, knows
when I’ve taken on too much
knows, knows —
what will slow down my flow

I breathe into the pain —
my movements slow, slow
as the drugs weave through
slow, slow —
to ease my troubled soul

And as my eyelids fall heavy
sleep so close, so close
I succumb to my muse’s song
so close, so close —
drifting off as my poem is done

©2023 Lori Carlson. All rights reserved.

A big thank you to Christine Graves for her Word-A-Day prompts — I used recline and testimonial in this poem

January Word-A-Day Prompts